Dating advice for entrepreneurs

You’re an entrepreneur. You live and breathe yourbusiness and this means going above and beyond – for 9-5 read 24/7. Even when you’renot in the office you are thinking about the business, your plans and your employeesbecause your company is like your baby, to the point where it’s difficult totell where the business ends and you begin.

But that can take its toll. You might ask “Howcan someone so successful, dedicated and organised be so unlucky in love?”.

The answer is time – between the long hours,meetings and keeping the business afloat, it’s hard to steal a moment foryourself, let alone set aside time for someone else. After all, building asuccessful business (or two, or ten) takes a lot of time and dedication.

But while you might be a very successfulentrepreneur, you're also a human being and it’s totally understandable thatyou want to create meaningful connections and find love outside of yourbusiness. You will ask, can an entrepreneur really have both? Of course, if youwant to! Much like a business, you just need to put in a little planning andpersistence.

So if you're still feeling like dating as anentrepreneur is almost impossible, let us help you. Check out our expert advicebelow.

Be prepared to give a bit of time

Although it can feel hard when you're alreadyjuggling so much, you need to get your priorities straight and decide whetherdating is really important to you right now. If it is, then you need to beprepared to dedicate a bit of time to your journey, otherwise, it won’t work. Youcan sign up to dating sites and agencies to take some of the time and effort outof finding a partner, but ultimately if you're not prepared to make the oddsacrifice and find time and space, then it will be much harder to find theright person.

Don’t just leave itto chance

When the balance between your work and your private life is nice and relaxed, it’s much easier to meet people naturally. You have time to socialise in your favourite bars, sit and grab a coffee from your favourite shop or even just bump into someone in the supermarket. But when you’re living and breathing your business you often don’t have that luxury and leaving love to chance could mean you end up waiting a long time. So it’s best to treat your dating journey like you would any venture, with careful planning and the right investment. 

Have a game plan

Before you dive in, think about the differentways you can approach the dating world, and which of them are going to work foryou as an entrepreneur. There are plenty of options out there, from speeddating to dating apps, but many of them can take up an awful lot of your time. Andthat’s before you discover that anyone can sign up for a dating app, and you findyourself bombarded with messages from unsuitable matches and people who won’tcomplement your lifestyle.

Instead, we’d recommend you look for a moreprofessional service such as a dating agency. Take Ignite Dating, for example.You’ll be assigned a dedicated matchmaker who will get to know you and they’llunderstand your unique position. They can help you to find someone that will understandand work with your lifestyle and they will to search for suitable matches whenyou're busy running your business. They can take the noise away and protectyour most valuable asset – time.

Choose aconfidential dating agency

If you do opt for a dating agency (and you should!!), think about choosing an agency that values confidentiality. As an entrepreneur, you may well be well known or recognised in your industry (or if not, you’ll want to be!) and so you want to keep your private life private. Using an agency that values confidentiality protects you from public online dating profiles and means you can avoid the swipe lottery of dating apps.

Keep an open mind

When you're used to being in control it can behard to let go and you might have a very specific way of doing things at workbut when dating, even more than in business, you have to keep an open mind.There might be certain aspects you want in a partner that you're really notwilling to budge on but beyond that try not to rule people out just becausethey don’t immediately tick all your boxes.

This is another benefit of using a datingservice, your matchmaker will get to know you and using their expertise willconnect you with people they think will be a good match, and they’ll challengeyou in the process. This can help you to keep an open mind, because this iswhat they do for a living and sometimes they’ll see something you don’t. Andhey, sometimes it can be nice to branch out and find someone that isn't yourtypical “type” - especially if your “type” hasn't been working out for you sofar…

Let your friendsand family know you’re looking for love

It also pays to let your friends and familyknow that you're looking for a relationship. After all, you never know who theymight know. They might have connections that they think would be a good match foryou. If you and your friends swim in similar circles (or even better, completelyopposite circles) they might be able to introduce you to someone they thinkcould complement you and would not be put off by the entrepreneur lifestyle. It’sfar from a foolproof way of dating but the fact that they know you can give youthat extra advantage.

Relax and leavework behind

When you do secure a date, it’s important thatyou're able to make time, relax and leave the office behind. The first few datescan set the tone for your whole relationship. If you're always distracted,talking about work or cancelling dates because you're too busy, it’s unlikelyyou're going to land yourself a lasting relationship. So remember, it’s a bitof give and take. If you're serious about finding love you need to be preparedto leave work behind sometimes, even if it seems impossible to switch off atthe start, but you need to give your date the time and attention they deserve.

Let us help

At Ignite Dating, we’ve worked with people fromall walks of life, including many highly successful entrepreneurs and weunderstand that discretion and a tailored service is important to you. We alsoknow you're short on time which is why we give you access to your ownmatchmaker and they will be with you every step of the way to guide you on yourjourney and help you find the perfect match. They will ask all the rightquestions and use their years of knowledge in the industry to get to know you almostas well as your friends do, and really focus on getting the best out of you.That way, they can find you the best matches. 

Because everyone is different, we make surethat our services are tailored to your specific requirements and yourmatchmaker will always be working away behind the scenes to find great matches,even when you're going about your business as usual. We offer a safe anddiscrete environment for you to meet like-minded individuals so you can feelsafe that all your personal information is kept completely private.

If you’d like to know more, get in touch with our team of expert matchmakers today.